Directed by Joe Calarco for an April 2009 launch, this will be the premiere of an expanded two-act version of the musical (by Julia Jordan, Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin) that was seen in a shorter, juvenile-friendly version by Theatreworks/USA Off-Broadway in 2006 and 2002. (The new version is appropriate for families, too.)

The libretto is by Jordan, with music by O'Keefe (Bat Boy) and lyrics by Benjamin. The husband-wife songwriting team wrote the score for the Broadway and (now) touring musical Legally Blonde.

Sarah, Plain and Tall will play DTC's Kalita Humphreys Theater April 22–May 24, 2009, in Dallas, TX.

Here's how DTC bills the show: "Living in 19th-century Kansas, widower Jacob Whitting struggles to make a good home for his two children on their Kansas farm. When he puts a personal ad in the paper looking for a wife to fill the painful void in their midst, he receives a reply from the strong-willed and unconventional Sarah Wheaton, a fisherwoman from Maine, who describes herself as 'plain and tall — and not mild-mannered.' With courage, patience, love and understanding they all learn to overcome fear and loneliness, rebuild their lives and create a new family together. …Sarah, Plain and Tall is a sweet, heart-filled musical the whole family can enjoy."

For more information, visit www.dallastheatercenter.org. *

DTC produces new, contemporary and classic plays and musicals to an audience of more than 90,000 patrons annually. DTC's Mainstage season is presented at the Kalita Humphreys Theater, one of only three existing theatres designed and built by the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 2009, DTC will move into and become one of the resident companies of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, a multi-form space designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince Ramus (partner in charge) and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas.